Saturday, February 16, 2013

We travelled with our
Rotary Sponsors, Gavin and Issy, to Cape Town last weekend to attend the Rotary
Ambassadorial Scholar Orientation. There are fourteen Ambassadorial Scholars
who have chosen to study here in the Cape Town area- 3 Germans, 1 Canadian, and
8 from all over the U.S. and 2 Texans.

We had a great time meeting
the other scholars and their Rotary hosts. We look forward to getting to know
each of them over this next year.

Monday, February 11, 2013

We attended the famous
Stellenbosch Wine Festival held this past weekend and it definitely lived up to
the expectations.

There were over 85 wineries
from around the Stellenbosch area in attendance, collectively showcasing more
than 500 of the region’s finest wines. With a nominal cover charge, festival
goers enjoyed unlimited tastings along with options to purchase a variety of
foods, coffees, ice cream, cupcakes and bottles of their favorite wines.

The festival was held in
a large grassy park in the center of Stellenbosch with picnic tables, lounge
furniture, shade trees and umbrellas set up for everyone to enjoy. The wineries
were divided into the different regions of Stellenbosch and each winery
decorated a booth to give you a taste of what their wine estate looks and feels
like.

We met a couple from
Holland and spent hours visiting with them about their travels to the States
and their three week holiday here in South Africa. It is interesting that we have come to South
Africa and had the opportunity to meet and have conversations with people from
all over the world!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

On Tuesday, I attended my
third meeting of the Helderberg Sunrise Rotary Club. As my host club in South
Africa for the year, it could not have been a better match.

Chartered in June
of 2006, the club is one of the largest and most active clubs in the Rotary
District 9350. The club hosts numerous fundraising and humanitarian service
projects including marshalling at the Die Burger's cycle race, Wines2Whales, Literacy
for All, Shelter Box, Ikhayalethemba Village Water Project and the Voice of
Rotary opera dinner concerts.

David, Maretha (Rotary Club President), and Gavin (Rotary Sponsor)

The club also encourages a
dinner club for members to get to know each other and their families better. So
far we have had the opportunity to attend two dinner club events and had a
fantastic time. We look forward to attending more club meetings and
participating in future service projects throughout the year.